Stu vs 2012 (Resolutions for Next Year)

2011 has gone by in a blur and was filled with ups and downs. More on that another time. However by far the best part of 2011 was watching my son go from this:



To this:


Anyway onto 2012. Usually new year resolutions are either made to be broken or are so ludicrous that we have no hope of actually achieving success. I've thought long and hard over the last few weeks about what I actually want to achieve next year and believe my resolutions are actuslly achievable. Some of this determinations comes from reading about my wife's aims for 2012. Please feel free to read about her passion for all things sweet related at http://little-sprinkles.blogspot.com/

Next year I intend to:

1. Read more (My bookshelves are filled with books left untouched). Please look to the left for more on what I intend to read in my 2012 Reading list.

2. Push on with my Writer's Bureau Children's course. I started last May and am currently bogged down with assignment 2. By this time next year I want to be booged down with assignment 6.

3. My lifelong passion is to become a published author. Next year I intend to finish my first children's Book and publish it via the Kindle. So watch out for Captain Cosmo: Space Adventurer on a Kindle near you.

4. Finally get a fulltime teaching position and do away with all this unpredictable supply malarky.

5. Spend more quality time with the family (anyone who knows me knows how much I depend to technology and my gadgets. In 2012 I promise to use these less. Ironically I'm typying this out on my IPad - lol.

6. Lose a little bit of weight. Tone up a little.

Well that's it. Not too far fetched I hope. Anyone else care to share thier own?

Stu vs. Christmas

Well folks as 2011 comes to an end I have actually found time to reflect on a few things. The first of which is Christmas. Now this is the first proper 'Copping Christmas' I've been involved in for 8 years. The last few times I've spent Christmas with my side of the family we've been in Florida. Although I had not forgotten how hectic it can get and how we are always swimming in presents, this was my wife's first taste of it all. It didn't disappoint.

This was our son's first Christmas and days before my brother and wife brought us the gift of a niece, Lyla. We were very excited to get to see her too. My wife is very organised so there was no last minute present dashes for people. Although on Christmas Eve-eve-eve (yes that is its official title) I was putting the last finishing touches to a present and in doing so destroyed my laminator beyond repair. This little mishap meant Ruth had to shoot into work on her day off to complete my awesome present for Dad.

Our journey to the parentals was slow but uneventful and we managed to fit presents et al in the car along with a moses basket for our little niece. My brother's car was a little more chocka (I will try and find a hilarious photo of this which had my sister-in-law wedged in the back).

So Christmas Eve arrived and the presents mounted. I thought we were quite reserved. My other family members had other ideas. For example my aunt dropped off 11 (yes 11) bags of presents just from her. Hence the tight fit in my brothers car. Strangly enough no-one seemed to get too hammered that evening. I think we were just too knackered.

I was up early on Christmas Day in anticipation for my son's early rise... It never came. He slept right through leaving a tired Daddy come breakfast time. TYPICAL. Now for as long as can remember we've haven't done traditional stockings at Christmas. Instead everyone get's everyone else a present or two that cost £1. This usually means an obscene amount of crappy presents that get lost on the way home. I was however suprised with my hall this year. Out of the 10 I received I think I've kept over half. My favourite being a map of Discworld. Bargain.

This went on until midday. We started at 10. When most people have ripped of paper and packaging and getting to play with shiny new toys our fun is just beginning. Now this went on until 4ish when we stopped for 'lunch' and then carried on once more until 10pm. I got a huge number of children's books which I intend to plough through this year, along with some PS3 games and a few Blu-rays which should also keep me entertained until my birthday in May.

I was more shocked with Nathan, who took in his first Christmas with awe. He wasn't too interested in presents, that I'm sure will happen next year, but he behaved excellently and monopolised his Grandad throughout the day. He got some excellent bath toys that we've already tried out.

Boxing Day was spent setting up my Mum's new IMac. I want one now, they're awesome. There were also more presents to open and lots of food to eat and I was all to happy to oblige. We then headed home on the 27th with more stuff than we came with.

That was out Christmas in a nutshell. It was great to spend it with family and see old friends (Bex your son is great). I've already read about other people's Christmas' and it looks like everyone has thoroughly enjoyed themselves this year.

Here's to a cracking 2012!! Happy New Year readers

Stu vs. The 2012 Reading List

My new reading list for 2012. Most are left over from last year and I fully intend to purchase (I don't condone stealing at all) all the books I dont have to avoid this years debacle.

There a quite a few children's books on this list, I'm doubling up with some research for the Writer's Bureau course.

The Minipins
World of Warcraft - War of the Ancients: Book 3
Magyk
The Borrowers
Astrosaurs: Riddles of the Raptors
The Adventures of Captain Underpants
Muddle Earth
The Brilliant World of Tom Gates
The Warcraft Archive
Scott Pilgrim vs The World: Book 5
Scott Pilgrim vs The World: Book 4
Tales from Earthsea
World of Warcraft: War of the Ancients - Book 2
The Wyrmling Horde - Sum of All Men
Brisingr
Inkdeath
Tom Trineheart and the Land of Dark Stories
The Amulet of Samarakind
How to Train Your Dragon
Edge Chronicles: Curse of the Gloamglozer
Assassin's Quest
Royal Assassin
Assassin's Apprentice
The Bromliad
The Complete Spiderwick Chronlicles
The Subtle Knife
Inheritance
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
Five on Treasure Island
Tollins

Stu vs. 25 Books in 2011: An Update

Well as we near the end of 2011 and think about what's in store for us in 2012 (I'll deliberate that later) I thought I would revisit my reading challenge. Looking back this challenge was flawed and doomed to fail from the start. The reason: I didn't actually own all the books on the list. Yes, I intended to but them all eventually but never got around to getting all of them.
Now I'll admit I'm a slow reader but I honestly thought 25 books in a year was doable. I managed to finish... 6! Yes just six. I blame A Dance with Dragons tbh. That book alone took me over three months to get through. Since then I finished a fair few others. My latest conquest being the first book in the Warcraft: Ancients trilogy.

So the list to the left will be altered to 30, yes 30, books in 2012. I'm going to remove those I've finished and add a few more. To quote Yoda, 'Do or do not, there is no try.'

This will probably be my final post pre-christmas, so I will take this opportunity to wish my readers a Happy Christmas. Eat. Drink. Be Merry.

Stu vs Writer's Bureau Assignment 2

Progress Update:

I've already given you people a sneaky peek at the synopsis for my science fiction novel for kids and was really shocked at the feedback I was getting. But alas, assignment 2 for my Writer's Bureau course doesn't end there. It is actually split into about six parts and I'm slowly ticking each one off. Below is my next synopsis aimed at children aged between 7 and 9 and takes place in a prep school with some hidden secrets. Once again read and enjoy and as always comments and criticism is not only welcome but encouraged.

The Stationary Store-Room Adventures (7-9)

Nathan and his friends, Snotty Fred and twins Ruben and Holly, are bored, having played with their Christmas presents constantly for the last few weeks. So in a moment of madness they decide they need supplies and plan a raid on the school’s stationary room during a lunch break. Their raid is successful but one of the stolen maths books becomes enchanted.

During lunch they take stock of their hoard and begin planning what to do with it. Fred reaches for the enchanted maths book and begins to create a maze full of traps and monsters using the squared paper. As Nathan hides the stolen goods and Fred is nearing completion, the paper begins to fold out on itself encompassing the four friends and they find themselves at the start of Fred’s maze. As Fred tries to remember how to get to the exit they are attacked by a ghoul. They manage to escape but get lost in the process.

As they make their way blindly through the paper maze they find that by drawing weapons on the walls and then cutting them out they come to life and use them against the hoards of creatures of the maze. As they come upon what looks like an endless plain of paper Fred realises he never finished the maze. To escape Nathan cuts a hole in the floor with the scissors and upon jumping through they find themselves on the sports field with only a few minutes left until registration.


I have to say with a word cap of just 250 words I felt I didn't do the story justice, but I'll be working on it during subsequent assignments. I'm hoping I can edit my final synopsis down enough and get it up on here over the next couple of days. At the moment my word count is waaaaay to high. I'll also be adding these tasters to my website (see to the right for a link that will take you whizzing over to it).

Stu vs. NaNoWrimo: As One Thing Ends....

Another continues....

So I gave up on my nano, no not given up but shelved for a time, and gave myself a few weeks off the writing. Until yesterday when I got back on the metaphorical saddle, picked up a pencil and began Assignment 2 of my Writer's Bureau course. The blue sheet of paper has been pinned to my notice board for six months. So I dusted it off and began working on writing synopses for three possible book ideas.

I've now written them all, one completed, the other two in draft form with too many words so will need to edit. I'm going to share one with you now. This is an idea for a book aimed at 5-7 year olds and I would love to know what you think. My tutor believes sci-fi for younger children is a very hard sell. Now I've done my research and I'm out to prove her wrong.

So here it is. My synopsis for Captain Cosmo: Intergalactic Space Explorer:

Captain Cosmo and his childhood robot friend Bal-4 have been asked by the Space Museum of Extraordinary Living Life-forms (SMELL) to track down the Gurdulfozer. In return he will be paid and receive a lifetime supply of Super Zombie Attack credits and get his own action figure.

So they head of to the Gemmi Nebula, believing they find the creature there. However along the way his stasis pod malfunctions, he wakes believing he is heading out for a vacation and sets down on the nearest planet to the sun. Bal-4, awake the whole journey plays along as he knows this is the correct place.

On arrival they are met by a race of small beings known as the Putrefowl. They try to enlist Cosmo in their fight against Kiro who has begun enslaving them. Slightly annoyed that it is getting in the way of his vacation he offers to help. Cosmo agrees to take the Path of Five, a series of tests, to free the Putrefowl. He passes the first four challenges Kiro sets him; the dagger pits, glacial climb, eating fire chillies and game of ape swing. The final challenge is to battle the Gurdulfozer to the death. Instead he sets it free, causing Kiro to flee the planet. The Putrefowl hold a feast in Cosmo’s name, then he and Bal-4 leaves with the Gurdulfozer and return to SMELL. After collecting their prize they decide to go on a real vacation.

If you are at all interested in my other stuff you can get a sneak peek on my website http://awritersblock.weebly.com/ and click on the projects tab. If you can wait the other synopses will be up on my blog tomorrow.

Enjoy and goodnight!

Stu vs The Christmas List

Well folks, it's that time of year again and at the grand age of 29 am finding it harder and harder each year to come up with things for people to get me.

However my father is having no such problem. His list last year was comedy gold, this year its almost as good, so good I thought I'd post iton my blog. ENJOY!!

THE CHRISTMAS LIST

By John
 

2 weeks at the Almond Beach and Spa in Barbados. Please do not scrimp Ocean view room on the 1st floor and upgrade to business Class on the flight. (I will pay for the stay at Holiday Inn the night before). Budget for around £7,000

2 Weeks in a villa at Sunset Lakes Orlando. (Please check with me first and I will send link to book villa direct). Again, upgrade on the flights please. Do not scrimp on the car hire....Cadillac Seville. If you shop around allow for £5,000 (how cheap is that?)
 
10 days in a villa at Competa. Unfortunately no flight upgrade available so be generous with the car hire. Well worth £3,000 which should give me some spending money if comparing with above.
 
ALL DATES SHOULD BE CHECKED WITH LAINE
May have to steer clear of Christmas next year as we seem to be gathering a collection of Grandchildren
 
The biggest Apple Computer costs a lot and does things I will never understand but bugger me does it look good. Since he bought his laptop, sorry Mac book, Jamie can advise on additional software.
 
Conn Iggulden...Conqueror. Amazon £8.55
 
George R R Martin...Dance with Dragons. Amazon £12.50
 
Nils Lofgren...Favourites 1990 – 2005. Amazon £7.49
 
Apparently you can buy credits for WII games to buy ‘on line’. Now that we have rescued this from Alex and Lisa best check with Stubag to see how this is done. You can borrow my ‘idiots guide to all things gaming’ that Stu wrote for me last year if you needed, should you wish to try yourself.
 
As mentioned last year I get great satisfaction killing things, they should invent a game with Politicians as the main protagonists, how much fun would that be? Oh, I digress; speak with Stubag to get an idea of what I can cope with.
 
I have asked Stubag and Barmy to come up with ideas for me, as and when they do I will add to list therefore please check regularly for updates.

All I'm hoping for is a few books (shock horror) and a couple of other bits and bobs. Here wishing all readers a Happy Christmas.

Stu vs The Illnesses

Wow, I haven't blogged in a few days. Why you maybe asking, well viruses, colds, flu, tonsilitis and generally not nice things have been passed around my house affecting me, my wife and most unfortunately my son Nathan. This has meant many sleepless nights trying to get him back to sleep (every violent cough seemed to wake him). This coupled with his total lack of appetite has meant a stressful week in the Copping household. We seem to be over the worst of it though.

This week has also marked the end of my short term work in a reception class. Yes it only lasted 3 weeks but it hsa felt like forever and I feel like I was really making strides where I shouldn't have been. I'm really going to miss that class of little horrors. So it's back to waiting by the phone next week from 7-9am in hope that some poor teacher somewhere will phone in sick. Roll on Tuesday!

I finally decided to bite the bullet this week and officially gave up on Nano but it has given me a fire that I haven't had in months. I think I will finally start Assignment 2 for my Children's Writers course. I'm just getting a bit muddled when looking at plot and synopsis. Argh! 

I'm also going to try and finish my book and Little Big Planet 2 this week during my 'off' hours.

Stu vs NaNoWriMo: The Meteor

As promised here is an excerpt for the next chapter. It is almost all description, which at the moment I am unsure about and any comments or critisms would be greatly appreciated. Happy reading

The Meteor

Dusk was ever approaching as Etheracea’s two sons hovered low in the sky. To the north Isinia was a ball of molten brown trying to flee behind the Teseras Mountains. It was surrounded by deep oranges, purples and browns, silhouetting the tall peaks that acted as the Northern boundary of Etheracea. To the south, Osana too was heading for the horizon. A polar opposite to the warmth of Isinia, the southern skies were awash with deep greens and ice blues giving off a final chill. The final rays caught the strange rocks of Trillium Peak, causing it to sparkle in the early evening calm, like a lighthouse warning ships of the impending shore.

The night was a clear one. Stars and their constellations littered the sky, named millennia ago by the elves and passed on through generations to the humans that now inhabit this ancient land.

To Captain Tannock and the other sentries on the walls of Nethergale this was a familiar sight. Some looked to the heavens and wished for a change, others thought of lost loved ones. Most just took in the view as the day made way for night. Tonight however would be different. To the west one unfamiliar star shone brighter than the rest. It was also moving. Captain Tannock had heard of such a thing; a thing of legend, a shooting star. It was known that these fabled objects granted wishes to those who asked, but he didn’t believe in all that magic stuff. His sword and his men were enough for him to worry about.

This star was strange, not only was it getting brighter, but bigger. It lit up the skies more than any moon. A flaming arrow encased in fire as it headed for its target. Tannock was sure it would pass harmlessly overhead and crash somewhere far off to the east. It was not for him to worry where. His world was the castle or the barracks at Atol.

As it approached reds turned to brilliant whites as it burnt up and danced across the sky. More soldiers had joined Tannock, their gaze transfixed on the meteor. The captain noticed others below all looking to the skies. It was same all across Etheracea. Fisherman on Lake Theraya let their nets run heavy, travellers on the Nerum Plains fought to control their horses and mules and eagle riders stopped midflight as the ball of light exploded. Huge pieces of rock broke away, plummeting to the ground. Smaller fragments fell like hail stones setting fire to houses or buried deep in the countryside. Tannock was grateful the castle remained untouched along with the town below.

Out to the East the inhabitants of Tarak weren’t so lucky. The main body of the meteor passed over Etheracea getting swallowed up by the Mephista Duordina, the ocean that stretches out to the east. As a result a huge tsunami almost two hundred feet in height rose up and began speeding towards the coast. A pirate vessel was the first object to stand in the way of its watery vengeance. The crew didn’t stand a chance as the monstrous waves swept over the ship snapping the mast as one might snap a twig. Men were thrown overboard as the ship rode the crest of the wave to be carried off or drowned, finding peace in the watery depths. Wood splintered as wave after wave tore into the hull leaving just flotsam as it bore down on the cliffs of Tarak Isle.

Tarak Isle was also hit unawares. The Eagle Riders were unable to get down to the lowlands to warn its inhabitants. The angry and frothing seas met with the eastern cliffs of Tarak Isle just a few hours after the meteor struck, neither willing to give way. Outlying rocks, unmolested for millennia were cracked and obliterated under the onslaught. Spray shot high into the air to sprinkle the woodlands and plains on the coast.

The harbour town of Nelin was not so lucky. The waves sailed over the harbour walls. Wood, brick, boats were all swept away by the huge waves. They swept buildings aside dragging their occupants out to sea. Screams filled the air as the survivors headed inland to the highlands surrounding the Tarak Mountains. Some of the Eagle Riders headed out to, battling the coastal winds and rain in the search for survivors. Each one returned empty clawed.

A smaller fragment plummeted into Lake Theraya, super heating the surrounding water before finding a home deep on the lakebed. Steam bellowed from the crash site and dead fish were left cooking on the water’s surface. Here the waves were not as high, only a few small fishing boats were capsized and the outer harbour of Porthilla protected any moored boats from harm. The town’s inhabitants ventured out briefly to catch a glimpse of the steam rising far off in the west.

Captain Tannock had seen enough. Clapping his fellow sentries on the shoulder he felt it his duty, as the most senior officer, to report the night’s happenings to the king and council. Surely they would want a short report before heading to the Cavern Hall for supper. He took the steps two at a time as he descended the stairwell; the only sound that of his scabbard bouncing off his right thigh. He met few others as he entered a corridor on the second floor and made his way to the king’s rooms.  His shadow flickered in the torchlight. Very little natural light could be found here, even in broad daylight.

* * *

The final part of the meteor crashed amongst the icy peaks of the Teseras Mountains, melting ice and snow and adding fresh water to the small rivers that made their way south to Etheracea. Steam once again rose high into the sky though it remained hidden within the thick cloud that surrounded the mountains. Deep within the glacier its strange inhabitants materialised from caves and hollows. These grey skinned brutes were dressed in black pelts made from the fur of dire wolves, their feet strapped with strips of leather to protect themselves from the harsh landscape. The meteor was calling them; all of them. Males, females, old and young took up arms and began leaving their homes as if starting some great pilgrimage. By night fall the glacial tribes were all marching towards the crash site as if driven by some mystical power and as the suns disappeared almost two hundred Orgalath were braving the sleet and snow of the glacier. Most were on foot but some rode giant spider-like creatures, used by some to help farm snow covered slopes.

Stu vs. NaNoWriMo Day 13: A Bit of Description

Looking at my stats page on the Nano website isn't making me feel that great. My average words stands at around 300 and I am way below the diagonal line. Finishing seems like a distant dream and I blame life an work getting in the way.

However this mamouth undertaking has given me a drive to write. i've worked on my story more in the last 13 days than I have in the last few years. My problem is that I'm a perfectionist. I edit as I go and like nothing I write dismissing it as cliche, boring or just not good enough.

Today I've been working on my second chapter which involves a lot of description. I would give you a sample but my latop has decided to have a midlife crisis and it won't connect to the internet. Thank the lord for Mr IPad, here to save the day. I promise my next excert will be up tonight. I really want some feedback on it.

Stu vs NaNoWrimo: Day 8 (falling even further behind)

I find work is increasingly getting in the way of my mojo.

I have been doing a bit though bringing my total up to around 2000. Over the past few days I've been closing on finishing the prologue. I deep in the midst of writing a crucial peice of dialogue to fliesh out the comings and goings of my fantasy universe. I have also mapped out the rest of the story using flashcards and am now knee deep in them. Even if I reach the magical 50,000 words theis story will be far from finished.

My real problem may come by the weekend as I try to write the chapters that I haven't given much thought too. I can see me hitting the wall soon.
B
The silver lining to all this is that this is the most intense period of writing I've done in years and enjoying every minute of it. Isn't that the point of all this?

Stu v.s NaNoWriMo Day 6: Fight Scene

Well after a few days of no writing I am seriously lagging behind. This evening I was back with a vegence having written my first fight scene since my second year of uni. Back then I reinacted the battle Peter Jackson styly to check I wasn't doing anything impossible. I fully intended to do the same with this one but as it happened there was no need due to lack of moves. Yes it was a short one yet no less important and fleshed out with a spell, some description and even more inner monologging(?)

Here we go, enjoy and as always comments and critiscisms are most welcome

Shaken out his trance by his sons, the three made their way over the rubble and bodies. The edge of this brick is scorched and blistered. No catapult could have done this. I must get answers. I must find the king. Their progress down the stairwell was slow due to Nathal’s injury. As they descended; fighting could be heard on each floor, yet they found no conflict of their own, only corpses. I only see Etheran corpses and this strange green substance. Is it blood? Has the enemy suffered any loses and if so where are the bodies? I cannot stand all this confusion.

“Irmane, Nathal! In here no-” He was cut short as he opened a side door on the first floor. There confronting them was some huge armoured monstrosity.

The newcomer was fast, swinging his blade, slicing horizontally in an attempt to behead the elf. However Traemidan was quicker. Keeping his weight on his left side, he dived back towards the staircase, rolling and twisting together, coming up on one knee facing his attacker. However with no weapon he was defenceless. That thing’s huge! The monster emerged from the sunless corridor, stopping briefly to retrieve it’s sword that had become embedded in the beech door. Standing at over eight feet it dwarfed the three Etherans, its head and chest hidden by some strange amour, studded with what looked like blue emerald crystals. Its skin was a semi-translucent blue-green colour. Traemidan could see dark veins pulsating underneath.  

Seeing his father weapon less, Irmane let go of his brother and leapt forward, bringing his sword up to meet the creatures deadly thrust as his father backed away. The creature’s sword was made from a single piece of corral. Not a single join could be seen. As the blades met the air seemed to shimmer as if giving off some mystical energy. The force of the blow brought Irmane painfully to his knees and the blade fell from his grip. All he could do was clutch his injured arm as the creature prepared to strike again. Traemidan watched their eyes meet, knowing that without a weapon, he could do nothing. He tried to shout. Nathal! Help your brother... Irmane to me... Not a sound came out. Nathal, weapon forgotten, began to mutter something under his breath.

Fear gripped both father and son, paralysing them as the creature stabbed downward towards Irmane. No. The corral blade connected between the neck and collar bone, biting through mail, flesh and bone. All Irmane could manage was a sharp gargling noise as blood bubbled up through his mouth as he slumped to the floor. Relentlessly the beast unsheathed his sword from the half-elf’s body and turned on Traemidan. A second later the stairwell was flooded with a bright light and intense heat causing Traemidan to shield his eyes. Confused he saw the charred remains of the monster crumble to the floor. In an instant the dim conditions returned but the heat somewhat remained. He blinked successively, trying to bring moisture to his stinging eyes. It actually hurts to breathe.

As he stood he noticed Nathal, standing quite breathless where Irmane had left him. His right arm was outstretched with something small glowing in his balled up hand. Did my son do that? How? What manner of sorcery was that and what of Irmane? He rushed forward to Irmane, crouching down he scooped his body in his arms, cradling him to his chest. He was limp and cold. That look of fear still etched across his young face. At that moment his resolve vanished; he began to whimper and tears began to pool on the stone floor beneath him. It should have been me. He was just trying to protect me but it should have been the other way around. No longer will I hear his voice, see him test his skill in the yard, get to see the man he would become.

“Father?” A familiar voice. Distant.

“Father!” There it is again, but my son lies before me. Dead.

“Father! We must go, there will be many more after that and I am unsure I have the strength for a repeat performance.” Nathal was standing over his father, trying desperately to pull him up. Slowly Traemidan rose; not wanting to take his eyes off the body of his son, now lying in a pool of crimson. I will return and retrieve you my son. You shall find peace amongst the trees as your ancestors did. He turned away, glancing briefly at the creature’s charred remains before bringing his foot down on its skull, reducing it to ash.  I have never seen fire do this bone. Did the same thing happen to the walls of Nethergal?

Oh and an updated word count now has me at 1,691. Woohoo, just 49,309 words to go in just 24 days.

Stu vs Fantasy Worlds (AMap of Maps)

Was once again trawling the information superhighway this morning for 'research purposes' when I came across this excellent fantasy world mash up. Now I love my fantasy as I love being transported to worlds that are different from whence I came, but there are even some that I didn't recognise.

Looking at this map, that include some fantastically rich and timeless fictional worlds is all the inspiration I need to get back to NaNoWriMo today. I wonder if in 20-30 years my world of Etheracea might claim a small section of this map. I can but hope.

Can you name the books these worlds inhabit. Answers on a postcard.

Stu vs NaNoWrimo: Day 2

Yes there are a few hours before day two officially ends but It's been slow going. I think I've done roughly around 910 words of very rough writing. I actually started this evening with a quick edit that added some emotion into my prologue. I also managed to get a few hundred words written during my lunch break as well. I really am in this for the long run it seems.


This evening was also good, I've introduced Traemidan's (POV for prologue) two sons and fleshed them out enough to hopefully leave the reader wanting more. I have just realised that in no such previous post have I mentioned my genre (reading the excerpt will give this away) or my target audience which is Young Adult. I'm calling it a night now though but not before I leave you with a little excerpt:

Suddenly the world around him came alive as if his hearing had just returned. Shouts and screams could be heard echoing through the corridors outside his room and the clash of metal on metal was ringing in his ears. Once again he tried to stand, his vision instantly blurring as he doubled over in pain, recovering just long enough to vomit down his green leather stockings. The stench of which did little to relieve the nausea. Traemidan took a moment to survey his once immaculate room lying in ruins. Shreds of his red silk drapes covered the floor soaking up a mix of blood and some green viscous substance he didn’t recognise. Other personal items lay smashed upon the floor and his gilded plate mail and long sword were missing. My father’s sword... gone. I must find the king.

He pushed himself once again to his feet, somehow managing to keep his balance as the pain in his head and right arm intensified. Slowly he edged towards the door, losing his footing more than once. He stepped over the unrecognisable forms of the soldiers, stopping briefly to notice something had torn out their throats, their swords still sheathed in their belts. Whatever killed these men must have caught them unawares. That’s not like any soldier of the king I know, what has occurred here? He made it to the doorway and although the corridor was deserted the castle was awash with noise; shouting and screaming what was that snarling sound. If pure evil had a voice he was sure that was it. The air was thick with the smell of burning wood. The castle was ablaze, though which part was unclear. A feint smile returned to the old elf’s face as he caught a glimpse of his two sons, emerging from a cross passage.

Irmane and Nathal were half –elves. Their mother was Etheran. Irmane, the elder of the two was taller and more muscular about the shoulder from his time spent sparring in the training yard. His jet black hair, matted with dried sweat and blood fell to his shoulders. In that moment he could not have looked any less like his elvish father. His chainmail had taken a battering and his broadsword, dripping more of that green viscous fluid seemed heavy in his right hand. His left was arched over his brother, helping him to walk. Nathal was the polar opposite of his brother, shorter with a more angular face like his fathers. He grimaced with every step; his librarians cloak slashed in several places and stained a deep red. Blood red! thought Traemidan.  

As if seeing their father for the first time, they quickened their pace, relief clearly showing on tired faces. As they embraced Traemidan let out yelp of pain in memory of his flailing right arm. Nathal stooped to inspect the injury but Traemidan pulled him up.

“What has happened here? Who attacked us? Where is the king?” His questions came tumbling out, not pausing for answers. Irmane untangled himself from his brother and placed a hand in the small of his father’s back and gave him a small nudge.

“Where have you been father, under a rock? That blow to the head must have affected you,” he replied urging his father forward yet always alert. What has my son so on edge, maybe I did take a fall. It would certainly begin to explain a few things. “We must get out of the city before we are totally overrun. Once free we should head west and warn the remaining garrisons of what has transpired here. Who knows how many Eagle Riders managed to escape.

The trio came to the stairs at the southern side of the castle. Fear gripped Traemidan as he noticed huge chunks of wall were missing. He stood transfixed, staring out at the world beyond the walls. The air was thick with smoke making it difficult to see much at all except the sky, and what a strange sight it was. Gone were the blue skies and wispy clouds he knew so well. They had been replaced by reds, purples and oranges. The sky is on fire, this must be some trick, an abnormal sunset perhaps.

Criticism, encouragement, pointers on how I can improve, I want it all. I keep thinking I can only get better. Now please excuse me as I'm off to watch Terra Nova, one of my guilty pleasures for American TV.

Stu vs The Synopsis

I'm never one to just jump right in or am I organised enough to actually plan to far ahead (strange as I'm a teacher but I digress)

So this morning I knocked up a quick synopsis for my NanoWrimo (I love saying that, it just roles off the tongue) novel. Yes it probably has more holes in it than Julius Caesar's corpse but it's a start and I'm sure it will change as I progress.

If anyone is interested here it is in all it's glory:

Synopsis

As a comet breaks up over the land of Etheracea, Traemidan, the last surviving Elf has a vision of a bleak future where mana once again fuels desires and strange creatures are laying waste to their lands.

He wakes to find his King has died and with Prince Garaan far off in the north he is unsure who to trust on the Council of Eldars. He dispatches his son's to take word to the Prince of his father's death and bring him home.

Upon his return and after the coronation Traemidan tells Garaanand the Council of what he witnessed in his dream. However they do not share his concerns and is removed from the council. The newly crowned Garaan Declares that under his rule the realm will be united once again and the garrisons of the north are to prepare for his arrival as he intends to lead a raiding party into the Tesseras Mountains and bring back the comet shard that fell there.

Not about to give up Traemidan sets out for Tarak Isle, where the king's brother, Wrain, commands the Eagle Riders, hoping for a better reception.

Traemidan's sons, Eliyan and Vrai, accompany the Garaan into the mountains where they come up against the Orgalath clans who have claimed the comet shard for themselves. Something in the rock has changed some of the creatures physiology and the Etherans' are crushed in the mountain passes. Garaan, Eliyan, Vrai and small group of soldiers are captured but not before word is sent to Tarak Isle where the Eagle Riders mount a rescue attempt.

The rescue is a success and the Etherans' make off with a part of the comet which is given to the Eldars for study. This research leads to the discovery of mana in the rock and begins to corrupt the Eldars who in turn begin to lead Garaan down a dark path that involves the capture of Traemadin and his sons. King Garaan then holds a series of tournaments in his own honor where Eliyan and Vrai witness the death of their father but are rescued along with the mysterious Flo'Rina by the Eagle Riders.

Now I have work this afternoon but I really want to have written my prologue by tomorrow. I'm feeling very ambivolent about this whole project right now.

Stu vs NanoWrimo

Tomorrow is November 1st, for most it is just another day for pinching and punching and a few white rabbits. For me it will be this and more with the start of National Novel Writing Month. I've got an idea for the story I'm going to attempt. I'm in the process of writing a quick plan. Yes I know I should have done this already but I've been busy with stag do's and a best man speech which I delivered with a few laughs on Saturday. It may just have been the most nerve racking moment of my life to date.

Stu vs The Stag Do

So yesterday was my little brother's stag do. He's not a drinker so we ended up going clay pigeon shooting before finishing off with a curry. Now I've never been shooting before and it showed at the beginning as i hit nothing after about 20 cartridges. I started feeling like England at Eurovision... Nil point. I tried on my right shoulder and left and I think our instructor was a bit dumbfounded that I couldn't hit anything. Then something just clicked and ended with hitting 6 from 8 in the final round. I didnt change my style at all. Maybe it was all fluke. Suffice to say I think I'll stick with my PS3 controller for my shooting fix. I'm definitely better with it.

Oh and curry was good too. Next stop... The wedding next week and some work still to do. I'll be looking forward to a night of Singstar and getting down on the dance floor.

Stu vs Life

Well it's been almost a month of nothingness. Very little to report on all fronts, with steady work coming in and a more mobile son to look after all else has faded away into the miasma that is my mind. However this may change next week as it is half-term. I'm not commiting to anything though.

However in a few weeks November begins in ernest bringing with it My Novel in a month challenge.

I did have a funny moment in school today. A child asked me what my favourite book was as a child. Obviously I came up with Brian Jacques' Redwall (a book I have a lot of history with). I also mentioned I own a lot of children's books due to the fact I want to become a children's author. They asked me whether I new any publishers to make me famous. Alas I said no. She then replied I should make some friends become publishers so I can become famous, so Ican come to school in a leather jacket and shades and walk with a swagger. Apparently all famous people do this...maybe I should be practising.

Stu vs Another Book Down

Well, that was an easy read. I'm talking about about a Diary of A Wimpy Kid and it was ok. Much better than the film, which was poor. Yes I know it's a kids film but even so.

The book did make me chuckle in places but nowhere near as much as the Horrid Henry books. I did buy the complete set but will hold off on the others while I get back to some meaty fantasy. I'm just about to sink my teeth into the ancient lands of Azeroth and Kalimdor. This is of course the world of Warcraft and has been recommended to me by my brother.

On another note I'm sinking my teeth into another writing project. The Facebook writing group I belong to are creating an anthology of poems and short stories with song titles as the focus. My attempt will be called Wonderwall and that's all I'm saying for now.

Now with all this writing stacking up, I'm going to sign off and actually go do something about it.

Nanu nanu

Stu vs A Novel in November

Challenge accepted!

Regular readers may know a few months back I joined a writers group on the The Book of Face, and although not a regular poster I put my two cents in every once and a while. Well while trawling posts I found a link to a website celebrating National Novel Month (if anyone hasn't guessed it already it's next month.

So I've signed up and accepted the challenge of writing 50,000 words in a month. Now considering I've written precisely 0 in the last two months this seems a little daunting. Hovever with the challenge being non-genre specific I thought I could get a move on with my childrens novel that I can only describe as Rugrats in Space... intrigued I hope so.

Stay tuned for regular (hopefully!) updates on my progress and maybe the odd excert.

Stu vs 25 Books in 2011 - update

Well folks by my own admission I'm a slow reader but A Dance With Dragons took me much longer than anticipated - roughly two and a half months to be precise. As a resultI am way behind my quota of 25 book read in 2011.

I am notgiving up however and have moved onto some lighter reading in the form of A Diary of a Wimpy Kid which so far is turning out to be quite funny and much better than the movie which I recently sat through; completely uninspring!

Not sure which of the remaining 20 I will tackle after this, maybe make a suggestion for me in the comments box!

Keeping reading folks, and to all those aspiring novelists out there, A Diary of a Wimpy Kid was written by a video game develper and if he can do it so can we.

Stu vs Finally Finishing A Dance with Dragons

To quote George R.R Martin: The last one was a bitch, this one was three bitches and a bastard!

Now I intend to talk a little about the book and there will be a few possible spoilers so please discontinue reading if you intend to read said book.

At 957 pages, plus a 50 page appendix (yes George likes to keep us informed on how each character is related) I thought I would whizz through A Dance With Dragons purely on my love of the world and characters. I was wrong and I put this down to not reading A Storm of Swords beforehand. There were a lot of secondary characters I'd forgotten about and the parts of the book set in Mereen were confusing to the point of being laborious.

The book started with a bang and proved Jon has balls to go along with his new title and carried on in muchthe same vain. However George I am disappointed in the direction you've taken Bran. I've been invested in this characterfrom book 1 and his story seemingly came to an end with a whimper in this book. It also seemed there was conflict included just to prolong stories and in parts this was unnecessary. That being said however in the end Dance was a great book and finished on numerous cliff hangers and with the death of one of my favourite characters...

Poor Jon. (what I said there'd be spoilers!) He only tried to do the right thing and along with Dany he paid theprice of trying to help everyone else.

Now come on George and begin work on the Winds of Winter, there is an empty space on my bookshelf waiting to be filled.

P.S. for a more indepth 'review' please stay tuned as a micro review should appear shortly on my website.

Stu vs A Mother's Sacrifice

This made me weep like nothing I have ever read. I found this while trawling the internet and it really moved me.



This is a true story of Mother’s Sacrifice during the Japan Earthquake. After the Earthquake had subsided, when the rescuers reached the ruins of a young woman’s house, they saw her dead body through the cracks.

But her pose was somehow strange that she knelt on her knees like a person was worshiping; her body was leaning forward, and her two hands were supporting by an object. The collapsed house had crashed her back and her head.

With so many difficulties, the leader of the rescuer team put his hand through a narrow gap on the wall to reach the woman’s body. He was hoping that this woman could be still alive. However, the cold and stiff body told him that she had passed away for sure.

He and the rest of the team left this house and were going to search the next collapsed building. For some reasons, the team leader was driven by a compelling force to go back to the ruin house of the dead woman.

Again, he knelt down and used his had through the narrow cracks to search the little space under the dead body. Suddenly, he screamed with excitement,” A child! There is a child! “

The whole team worked together; carefully they removed the piles of ruined objects around the dead woman. There was a 3 months old little boy wrapped in a flowery blanket under his mother’s dead body. Obviously, the woman had made an ultimate sacrifice for saving her son. When her house was falling, she used her body to make a cover to protect her son. The little boy was still sleeping peacefully when the team leader picked him up.

The medical doctor came quickly to exam the little boy. After he opened the blanket, he saw a cell phone inside the blanket. There was a text message on the screen. It said,” If you can survive, you must remember that I love you.” This cell phone was passing around from one hand to another. Every body that read the message wept. ” If you can survive, you must remember that I love you.” Such is the mother’s love for her child!!

If I ever found myself in this situation I'd like to think I do the same thing.

Stu vs Campaign Cartographer 3

Now I can draw, I'm not an artist but when I put pencil to paper the finished product looks vaguely like it should. However I wanted to create a really authentic and cool (emphasis on the cool) looking map to show the world of Etheracea. I had a go at doing a hand-drawn version which, although ok, didn't cut the mustard.

So I went searching for a little help. Now I have no arty friends but have found the next best thing. A user friendly computer programme that does it for you. A case of drag and drop. Well it arrived in the post this morning. I have installed it and as I have an hour or so to kill will be giving it a test run. I will be placing a few of my efforts here and on my website (if they turn out good that is).

Time to get my geek on.

P.S. Just watched a new American show called Revenge. Suffice to say it was very good, will be tuning in again.

Stu vs. The New American TV Season

Now I enjoy my job and I love to write but I also love it when September roles round with another myriad of American TV shows both old and new. It'll be an interesting few months with many new shows vying for a place in my download queue. Already got a new episode of How I Met Your Mother to watch and many more coming this week. I looking forward to the new series of Big Bang Theory the most though. It is by far the best thing for a geek like me on TV at the moment.

As for new stuff, Sarah Michelle Gellar's return to TV in The Ringer was enticing last week and I'm also looking forward to Alcatraz and Terra Nova.

This of course is really to keep me tied over until April and the new series of Game of Thrones (though recent news items regarding the new series has left me a little worried that the creators are straying to far from the awesome source material. I hope to be proved wrong.

Oh and I almost forgot, the new series of Spooks has also started. All these wonderful shows to influence my writing further.

Stu vs his website

There has been too much time between posts, so to all my regular readers I appologise (if I have any). The reason has been the end of the school holidays and going back to work. On the bright side its been better than the end of last term, having got work in a mor local school.

I've also joined a writer's group on facebook which is full of very active writers. One thing I've found is that so many of them have their own websites and as a result I've created my own. Here's the link which can also be found in the 'Links to Me' section

http://awritersblock.weebly.com/

On a completely different noteand with a small stab of jealousy my son made it into a magazine this month... And before his dad. If you have it please check out this months Good Food. The bottom picture on letters page is my son chowing down on his mum's Good Food.

Stu Vs. The Finished Cake

So below is the infamous cake. Trust me it tasted better than it looks.



What should I try next with so many birthdays and a christmas (I have a cool idea for this) coming up.

Stu vs. Cake

My writing has slowed to almost a complete stop, hence the lack of blogging but I have been enjoying family time in the holidays and no one can begrudge me that.

Now cakes and sweets are usually my wife's fortay (though I do make a mean chocolate biscuit slice), she makes and sells here own cupcakes and other delectables whenever she can. If you want proof here's her website www.littlesprinkles.co.uk.

However we have recently acquired the Food Network on Freeview (yes I'm too poor for Sky) and with it the most awesome programme Ace of Cakes. So I have decided to get my wife to teach me how to bake the perfect cake so I can unleash my creative juices on this humble sponge. I'm sure there will be a few disasters and maybe the odd masterpeice. I'll be posting a few of my creations here: First up three giant children's ABC blocks - I like to jump in at the deep end.

Stu vs Nathan's First Words

Wohooo!

Yes he said Dadadadadadadadadadada - which I'm taking to be Dada.

Stu vs. Writer's Bureau Assignment 1

I've just received my first assignment back and am really chuffed with the feedback. Maybe I'm not kidding myself and can get published. I've also received the brief for A3 and the learning curve for this course is surely exponential but only a little daunting.

So here is my first assignment in all it's glory along with my tutors feedback:

Assignment 1: Creating Characters

 9-12 Character - Eragon (Eragon)

Eragon is a popular character because he is a character most can identify with. He is on the cusp of adulthood when a single event changes his life forever. He then embarks on an adventure to battle evil and that fantastical element may appeal to young boys, however his problems are rooted in the real world; those of friendship and dealing with loss are issues that face every child no matter their age or upbringing. This makes Eragon a plausible and likeable character and we accompany him along the way and grow with him.

5-7 Character - Horrid Henry (Horrid Henry)

Horrid Henry is a prankster. Children in this age group really believe, like Henry, they are always right and don’t understand necessarily what they do is wrong. The books focus on Henry's viewpoint so we can understand his motives for doing things. They can sympathise with him as the victim rather than the bully older children know he is. Henry is of school age dealing with problems that most other children encounter, from annoying parents and siblings to girls at school. Children of this age have the same mindset as Henry and follow him hoping his schemes will work.

7-9 Character - Fox (Animals of Farthing Wood)

In a book with an ensemble of characters, Fox is the appointed leader of a band of animals. He is commanding as all leaders should be. He is also selfless and compassionate towards all others no matter what. With no titular character in this book, readers don't picture themselves as the leader but as a follower. As we go through the book the reader realises the sacrifices Fox has to make while helping others as we would help our friends. The reader looks up to Fox, believing in him, willing him to get us to the end safely.

Cosmo (5-7)

Cosmo is an outgoing boy of six that lives with his dad on a Tarakian space station. His mother died in a raid on a Scurge scout ship. Cosmo is left alone most days to roam the ship with his only friend, a sentient robot toy called Bal-4 as there are no other children onboard. Bal-4 was given to him by his dad after arriving on the S.S. Sibilius.

            Cosmo is a small boy for his age with a little piggy nose and very blonde hair. He is constantly covered in cut and bruises from crawling through ducts and other small spaces on the ship; this usually ends up with him getting in trouble with his dad. He also has a bionic eye after losing one boxing with Bal-4. This eye allows him to see infra-red and have x-ray vision. He has learnt much about space travel from workers on the ship and his father allows him to do small jobs for all those on board.  Cosmo dreams of one day becoming a space adventurer and is constantly making up scenarios where he must save the ship from invaders.

Nathan Thames (7-9)

Nathan is ten years old and attends a very prestigious private school in the southwest of England.  He is tall for his age with jet black hair and grey eyes. Nathan can be described as slightly rotund and walks with a slight limp, having one leg shorter than the other. He also wears glasses due to being shortsighted.

            A clever and creative child who has problems sustaining this over prolonged periods resulting in him lagging behind his friends, this doesn't bother him though.  Nathan enjoys his sport though wouldn't be called sporty. Due to his size he has excelled in the scrum of the school rugby team. At home he spends his time playing his dad's old SNES, he loves retro games.

            He really lacks in self-confidence around strangers but is really close with his friends. His best friend is Snotty Fred who he has known since they were five; they also share the same birthday. In their spare time Nathan and his friends, Fred and twins Ruben and Holly, spend their time making up adventures, obstacle courses using everyday items from the class room and talking video games. They are considered geeky outcasts by their class mates.

Ryan Phelps (9-12)

Ryan has just moved to Surcliffe in Dorset with his mother, who wanted Ryan to have a better life. Over the past year he has got into frequent fights with others at his school. He has no brothers or sisters and his dad left when he was just a baby. As a result he finds it hard to make friends and is content to be the silent one at the back of the class who gets on with his work. He is very intelligent; he just doesn’t know where he wants to go in life.

Ryan is mature and very independent, helping his mum around the house as much as he can. He is just starting his A-Levels in biology, history and media studies.

Ryan has very curly brown hair and brown eyes and walks with his shoulders hunched in an attempt to be left alone; this also disguises his surprising upper-body strength. Bullied at primary school, Ryan despises people who pick on others and has developed a short temper because of this. On his first day his new school he finds an unlikely friend in James, a Year 11 outcast.

Dialogue

"Peas... Again!" sighed Tom disgusted as he sat down at the lunch, "I hate peas. Sarah can I put them on your plate?"

   "No you may not!" Sarah replied, rolling her eyes as she scooted onto the bench behind him, "my mum always says you must eat your greens."

Tom gathered up a spoonful of peas. "Your mum never told me nothing, here have some more," said Tom, tipping the peas over Sarah's plate.

   "Tom! Stop it! Take them off, take them OFF!" squealed Sarah as she jumped up to aviod the overflowing peas on the table. Tom put a few peas on the palm of his hand and flicked them in Sarah's face.

   "Eat your greens Sarah. Eat your greens... they're good for you," mocked Tom, flicking more peas at her. Sarah burst into tears.

   "Miss Evans! Tom's flicking his peas at me again!" sobbed Sarah.

Feedback

Popular Children's Characters
You have summed up the characters well and hilighted the reasons children would relate to them. Don't forget to credit the authors with their work.

Your Own Characters
Cosmo - An appealing character who would suit the age group, although it will be a challenge writing sc-fi for children so young.

Nathan - A strong character

Ryan - If he's starting his A-levels he's too old. Children refer to read about others a little older than themselves, so he should be twelve, thirteen at the most. Make sure he has some flaws or weaknesses which make him more human, more interesting and provide characteristics which will determine how he reacts to the challenges he faces in the story.

All characters have to be a little larger than life. They must have passions, fears and courage, Give them memorable features and mannerisms and let them make an impact so the reader remembers them. Fix them in the mind by creating an anchor - a name, habit, way of speaking, a sensory perception.

Dialogue
A very god peice of natural dialogue with plenty of conflict, but it's not clear who the viewpoint character is as you have no thoughts. It's best to stick with one point of view (even 3rd person) and tell the story through the main character's eyes, at least in books for younger children. For older readers you can have more than one viewpoint character (third person multiple) but would still be 'inside' the head of that character and would only change between chapters.

You have woven plenty of action into the dialogue too, so that the reader has a mental image of what is happening and where. This helps break up the dialogue, anchors the speech in the scene and contributes to characterisation.

It's not necessary to attribute all speech as long as it's clear who is speaking. Most attributive verbs are, and should be, invisible. They should not take the eye away from the speech. If you need to use one, said is usually the best. It is not noticed. The only time an attributive verb really pulls its weight when the meaning of the spoken words in't clear from speech, necessating, for example, 'she lied'.

Fictiona dialogue must have a point an a destination. It can never be general or polite conversation (or arguments). Dialogue is real life conversation without its sidetracks. It has two main functions: to move the story along and reveal character, which yours does very well.

A very good start to the course and I look forward to your next assignmen. Please let me know of any feedback you begin submitting material to publishers.

Well there it is folks and well done to anyone who has actually read this. Stay tuned for more writing adventures soon.

Stu vs. A Dance With Dragons Update

It was a slow starter, more owing to the fact that I really needed to reread the last two books in G.R.R.Martin's epic rather than just the last one. But now however it has reached the levels of awesomeness I was expecting and at halfway through I finding it difficult to put down.

Just 490 pages and probably 5 odd years to wait until The Winds of Winter.

Stu vs The Research

If people actually read my ramblings then you'll know I've finally submitted my A1 for the WB's children's writing course. This logically leads onto to A2 (I know I bet your as shocked as I was). Whereas the first was all about characters, and as there are so many stored in my head, seemed easy to write (though more difficult to hone), this second one is actually requiring some thought; it revolves around story and plot.

So I've taken it upon myself to do some research while off on summer holidays; yes being a teacher has its perks. Now my local library has proven to be quite crappy in the past and it didn't fail to surprise me yesterday either. All I managed to pick up was Cabbages From Outer Space (yes it is as bad as it sounds) and The Day of the Monster Pigeons, which I have yet to sample but should be more appropriate.

Waterstones yielded a greater selection of books and a hunt on Amazon has found them at more affordable prices so will be making a bulk order over the weekend. I'm hoping to find a gap in the market with a series of space-based stories for 5-7 year olds. I have a couple of fantasy-based ideas for the others. More info to come.

Stu vs A Foray into the World of Publishing

I finally got my first experience with the publishing industry this week... And no it wasn't purchasing a new book. I am still sinking my teeth into George R.R. Martin's A Dance With Dragons on the book front.

Anyway I digress, a couple of weeks ago I was asked to consult on a new book for supply teachers, being one myself and I am actually getting paid for it. Its been an interesting forray into the world of publishing and after rereading my notes... quite brutal! So please be free to check out the new book in the 'Brilliant' series.

On a separate note Assignmnt 1 for my Writing for Children's course is complete and being sent off tomorrow. One down, thirteen to go. Hopefully the next one won't take me four months.

This is me signing off for today.

Stu vs Lost Work 2

This is again from my first year of uni and reading it back, I can't believe I actually wrote it. Maybe I can write after all. so with out further ado here is a monologue completely unaltered from ov 7 years ago.


Monologue
 
She finally called like she said she would. Should I be worried, its only eighteen months too late. Though something seemed off with her, something has changed. I remember her being so open, so talkative, but not like this. When I asked for the reason of her call she clammed up. It must be serious. Maybe she’s pregnant? No! She would’ve told me right away. Maybe she wants to get back together? If she does I’ll have to tell her about Judy…. Or maybe I won’t. Two women on the go at the same time! I reckon I could pull that off. Well here goes Sam, the moment of truth.
 
There she is, still the same girl I slept with those many months ago. The same looks, the same flowing beauty. Though that expressionless face, that’s different, it gives me the shivers. Something must be wrong. I can sense some kind of tension in her actions, just like there is in mine. A kind edginess to our actions, as if we are both wishing this encounter will end soon. She’s pregnant, did I just hear her correctly, all I can do is laugh, she was always good at the occasional joke. No! Wait! I did hear correctly. She wants me to help her with the baby too. I can feel the heat on my face. How do I respond, “Yes! I’ll do anything.” Did I really mean that, I hope I’ve done the right thing. Do I tell her about Judy. I see her smiling there and my conscious clears briefly.  
 
What the hell am I going to tell Judy? “Hi honey guess what? Today I found out I had a nine month old son, wanna keep him?” No, but she has to know. I couldn’t keep something this huge from her. The there’s Sue, I know I told her I would help, but can I really do this? Am I ready to be a father? Yes, I can take on the responsibility of having a kid but I am going to need help. That’s my concern; if I tell Judy will I still have that help. “Jesus Christ, keep your eyes on the road, you prick.” Every Saturday these crappy drivers just seem to home in on me, just to give me grief.
 
I’ve had a son for a month now and in a couple of days his mum’s will meet for the same time. I was shocked at Judy’s reaction when I told her, but then again she had never told me she was unable to ever have kids. She sits there playing with him as if he was her own. I hope Sue can find her own ‘Judy’, it must be hard for her, especially when Tom is here, she must feel lonely. Looking back on that day, the one day that has changed my life forever. Given me a new perspective on life. Looking back with hindsight, I wouldn’t change anything. I never realised that one phone call from a one night stand and the sight of a little baby that I created could turn out to be the best thing that has ever happened to me.        

Stu vs Character Profiles 3

Well here it is finally after over a month, my final character biography for Assignment 1 of my Writers Bureau course. This little guy is the main character for my 5-7 age range.


Biography - Cosmo (Captain Cosmo Adventures)


Name: Cosmo 

Nick-Name: Captain Cosmo (his alter ego)

Age: 6

Sex: Male

Nationality: Tarakian

Appearance:  Short, piggish nose, has a bionicle eye, always has grazed knees and little cuts and bruises over his face and arms

Hair Colour: Short blonde hair (kept shaven),

Eyes: Green

Voice: Loud, excited, commanding

Features: Bionicle eye, carries around a F12 blaster replica,  

Favourite Colour: Gunmetal grey

Favourite Food: Plotho Balls

Least Favourite Food: Tarakian Sprouts

Best Character Trait: Friendly, fearless

Character Flaw: Forgetful

Personality: Pretends he is Captain Cosmo Space Adventurer, outgoing, fearless
 
Likes: Aliens, exploring the ship, his robot toy - Bal-4

Dislikes: Curfus

Habits: Day dreaming, getting lost, getting into trouble

Pets: None

Best Friend: A sentient robot toy Bal-4

Worst Enemy: The Scurge - bad aliens

Secret Desire: To become Captain Cosmo: Space Adventurer

Stu vs Lost Work 1

I've been going through some of the material I wrote for my Creative Writing degree back in 2002-2005. Here is a poem I wrote using tag lines from the movies of 2002.

Can you guess which films they were?


A Collage Poem – A Poem from the Movies

A secret experiment. A deadly virus. A fatal mistake.
The days are numbered.
Fathers, brothers, husbands and sons.
Be afraid, be kind of afraid.

What do you see?
Same planet. New Scum.
Pray for Michael Sullivan.
He was the perfect weapon until he became the target.

You won’t believe your eye.
On July 26th the secret will be exposed.
Are you in or are you out?
Fight fire with fire.

Dobby has come to warn you Sir.
With great power comes great responsibility.
A jedi shall know not anger. Nor hatred. Nor love.
He had everything until he met the new girl.
Obsession, betrayal, revenge. Some girls do it for fun.

Please leave comments and let me know what you think. As I delve into my past work I'll try to post more her on my blog.

Stu vs Cars 2 Trailer - Legofied

Ruth showed me this a while back. Now I am a big fan Lego but Pixar have taken it a step further with this.

It truely is all kinds of awesome! Enjoy!

Stu vs Crazy Times

I realised I've been neglecting my blog recently but it hasn't been on purpose, it's just been a crazy few weeks with job applications, interviews and a party taking up most of my time. So much so that I haven't even started my Writer's course assignments yet; even after a few months.

It was my 5th wedding anniversary and Nathan's naming day last weekend. Stay tuned for some photos.

I promise more frequent updates from now on, including part two of my Game of Thrones review. I have also found a really interesting Cars 2 trailer, those guys at Pixar really are geniuses.

Stu vs 80's Cartoons

Now anyone born in the 80's can vouch for this. It was a time where cartoons didn't suck. Being a kid was all kinds of awesome. We could go off and play on our own without our parents getting frowned upon, we had toys that were robust (in other words buried and dug back up days later and still useable and we had great cartoons. I spent all of around 10 minutes compiling this list in my lunch break the other day. This quality programming just came back to me. Did your favourite shows make my nostalgia list. I'm sure I've forgotten some so please feel fee to comment.


80's Nostalgia

Thundercats
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
Gummi Bears
Ewoks 
Visionaries
Dungeons & Dragons
The Mysterious Cities of Gold
Transformers
Dino Riders
The Racoons
Muppet Babies
Danger Mouse
Count Duckula
Dogtanian
Go-Bots
Captain N: Games Master
Super Mario Super Show
M.A.S.K
Super Ted
Sharky & George
Captain Planet
Jace and the Wheeled Warriors
Ulysses 
G.I.Joe
The Wuzzles
Galaxy High
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Real Ghostbusters
Chip'n'Dale Rescue Rangers
Ducktales
Jamie and the Magic Torch
Poddington Peas
Shoe People
Trapdoor
Funhouse (avec a mullet sporting Pat Sharp)
The Crystal Maze
THE BROOM CUPBOARD

If you know where to look these shows are almost all available on the tinterweb in all their original glory.

Which were your favourites?

Til next time... Nanu Nanu!!

Stu vs His 50 Greatest Movies

So this week my lunch breaks this week were filled with boredom so I began compiling a list of my favourite movies. This list has some of the best movies of all time on it, some not so good and some of my guilty pleasures of the film world. Without further a do:

1. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
2. True Romance
3. Gladiator
4. Starship Troopers
5. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
6. Donnie Darko
7. Star Wars: A New Hope
8. From Dusk Til Dawn
9. The Lion King
10. Toy Story 3
11. Kick Ass
12. The Goonies
13. The Last Samurai
14. The Matrix
15. Pulp Fiction
16. The Empire Strikes Back
17. O Brother Where Art Thou
18. Pirate of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
19. Avatar
20. Inception
21. Rock'n'Rolla
22. Independence Day
23. Batman Begins
24. The Dark Knight
25. Aliens
26. Terminator 2
27. The Faculty
28. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
29. Speed
30. Bridge to Terabithia
31. Princess Mononoke
32. King Kong (2006) 
33. Seven
34. The Shawshank Redemption
35. Shrek
36. Sin City
37. 28 Days Later
38. Leon
39. Aladdin
40. The Rock
41. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
42. Stardust
43. Reservoir Dogs
44. Saving Private Ryan
45. Shrek 2
46. The Bourne Ultimatum
47. Alien
48. The Godfather
49. Ace Ventura Pet Detective
50. L.A. Confidential

Stu vs Game of Thrones (the story so far...)

To say that I was excited when I heard HBO would be adapting George R.R. Martin's fantasy epic would have been a major understatement. I first heard about this almost 18 months ago and have since then been glued to http://winter-is-coming.net/ for news of castings, location shooting and any other information I can goble up on the project.

The A Song of Fire and Ice series, to give it its proper title (the TV series is named after the title of the first book), has been one of my favourite reads over the past 5 years. I picked out the first book on a whim and never looked back. As you can see on the right I am currently re-reading the 5th book in the series to pave way for the next which will be released in July. Here's a pic!

Anyway, I'm digressing! I was originally going to rate each episode as it was shown but as you can see I've fallen a bit behind, sorry folks. So here are my thoughts on the first three episodes of the epic Game of Thrones.

Cast:

Eddard Stark - Sean Bean

Catlyn Stark - Michelle Fairley

Robert Baratheon - Mark Addy

Cersei Baratheon - Lena Headley

Jamie Lanister - Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

Tyrion Lannister - Peter Dinklage

Danaerys Targaryen - Emelia Clarke

Viserys Targaryen - Harry Lloyd

The Hound (Sandor Cleagane) - Rory McCann

Petyr Baelish - Aiden Gillen

Jorah Mormont - Iain Glen

Jon Snow - Kit Harrington

Rob Stark - Richard Madden

Bran Stark - Isaac Hmpstead-Wright

Arya Stark - Maisie Williams

Sansa Stark - Sophie Turner

Joffrey Baratheon - Jack Gleeson

Episode 1: Winter is Coming:

Before I even start I just want to say Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister is the most perfect casting for any part ever! So back to the episode; I'm glad they started with the books prologue even though what happened in it didn't really advance the story's plot. The visuals of the world beyond the wall, and of the wall itself were breathtaking. The opening sequence was actually re-shot for artistic purposes. If  David Benioff and D.B Weiss (creators) pay this much attention to detail then we are really in for a treat in the later episodes (you'll find no spoilers here). So to the meat and veg of the episode; the characters. Winter really sets up the character's nicely and highlights Eddard's reluctance to leave his home, even for an old friend. Duty seems to rule over family for him. This is apparent with his affection for his bastard son Jon. The Lannisters are evil and manipulative, plain and simple and played wonderfully by the actors. We started to see the sibling squabbles and the differences between Sansa and Arya very early on, along with Arya's tom-boy attitudes, which really come to a head later on. Even with the wealth of chracters the story was easy to follow. My wife can vouch for that, as she hasn't read the books but still knew what was going on.

Across the sea we had a fleeing King and his sister in the shape of Viserys and Danaerys, the former is looking for an army to retake Westeros. Harry Lloyd plays this selfish character brillantly with just the right amount of venom. I mean come on, he pimps out his own sister for support.

The scene was really set for whats to come and even though I know the story well I was left thinking how the worlds of the North and South and across te narrow sea would pan out, the cliff hanger ending was the perfect place to stop. Roll on episode 2.

Episode 2 - The King's Road

I realise I forgot to mention the direwolves above and I could be bothered to slot them in here. They were more noticeable in this episode as we saw one die (some what unfairly - curse those Lannisters), one get sent away and one rip the throat out of an assassin. Excellent, I really like the way that thewolf just returned to his master's side and lay there after such a bloody attack. In this episode the characters begin to spread throughout Westeros. Tyrion and Jon go north to the wall, accompanied by some excellent dialogue on the Kings Road. Catlyn and Rob remain at Winterfell to care for a crippled Bran, with the rest heading south for King's Landing where Lady meets her demise at the hand of Eddard, a butchers boy gets run down, 'the boy ran... just not fast enough.' We discover that Joffrey really is a letch. Is it me or do you just want to slap him around like Tyrion did at the beginning of this episode.

We also get a hint of some forthcoming information about Jon's mother, which I actually had to revist the book to find out and his reasons for heading to the wall and the on screen chemistry between Sean and Mark really becomes apparent when they stop on the Kings Road. Across the narrow sea there is a rift opening between Dani and Viserys which is sure to end in violence. Iain Glen as the quiet former knight Jorah Mormont really has surprised me the most so far and I think he will really come into his own later on. The ending scenes also show up the non-existent love between Cersei and Robert but he knows he must appease her every once and a while.

Episode 3 - Lord Snow:

Ah the wall, I really like Jon as a character in both the books and now the series. Kit Harrington was an unknown before HBO snapped him up and he won't be unknown for long. His story really is the most interesting journey for me and so far its been done brillinatly (You'll find that so far I really have nothing to complain about so there will be a lot of 'brilliant') The casting and portrayal of both Allister Thorne (the wall's newbee trainer) and Commander of the Watch have so far been inspiring although the latter has had little screen time to flex his character muscles.

To the south, Bran is awake but cannot walk and Catlyn has sailed south to speak to Ned regarding her thoughts on Bran's 'accident'. The only slight issue I have with this episode is the introduction of many new characters with not a lot of explaining (with the exception of Little Finger (Baelish)). Some more casting gems here and hopefully the full extent of these characters will begin to be realised.

This episode also saw the first bit that wasn't in the books at all, when Robert and Jamie had a little tete-a-tete while Robert was eating. Something I haven't touched much upon is the settings and landscapes of George's world, which to now have really been captured in the greatest of detail. I mean how many extras can be seen in the backgrounds of scenes. Good job HBO!

Roll on episode 4. The story is moving fast but everything is on track so far. We are in for some shocks over the coming weeks, mark my words! Til next time